There's going to be a Shannara TV series. (Hooray!) And it's going to be on MTV, which is... interesting. And with Iron Man's Jon Favreau directing. Can Favreau really recreate our epic-fantasy dreams on basic cable?

Top image: Cover art by Keith Parkinson.

Deadline broke the news that Terry Brooks' classic book series will be coming to television, with Favreau directing the pilot. Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar are on board to write. And all of a sudden, it all makes sense. This kind of talent paired with MTV paints a very colorful, and probably fairly fun, take on the Shannara series. And that works. We're picturing something almost akin to the Hercules/Xena series of the 90s — only with more robes and elves.

The books, by Terry Brooks are set in the Four Lands — which is actually Earth hundreds of years into the future, after a nuclear war has wiped out most of the planet. The survivors have reverted back to a feudal system, and magic has replaced science. This is absolutely the most ambitious thing we've ever seen MTV take on, but it kind of plays to their demographic. Think Tolkien, only with more hot guys. What do you think?